Improvement in machinery for cleaning wool



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN PLATT AND WILLIAM RICHARDSON, OF OLDHAM, COUNTY OF LAN- v CASTER, ENGLAND. f

IMPROVEMENT IN MGHINERYFOR CLEANING ,WO'OL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,727, dated October 21, 1862.

RICHARDSON, mechanical engineer, of thel same place, have invented Improvements `in `Machinery or Apparatus for Cleaning Wool and other Hairs of Animals from Bu'rrs and Vother Extraneous Matters; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

In our arrangement of machinery or apparatus we employ a roller against which is placed a fixed blade, between which and a reciprocating blade the wool or other such material to be cleansed is introduced.

Another feature of our invention consists in the adaptation of mechanism to the abovedescribed machinery foropening outthe material previously to its being presented to the rollers and blades. For this purpose we adapt spiked rollers or other such opening or cardingvapparatus, working in a dish, and we employ a transferring-comb in conjunction with the said spiked roller and iixedspikes, which draws off the material in detached tufts and presents it to the said roller and blades. y llhese constitute the main features of our invention, which we claim to be our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, and we will now proceed to describe how the saine may be carried into practical operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Y Figure 1 is alongitudinal section of the machine; Fig. 2, a plan or top View, and Fig. 3 a detached plan view of certain of the parts.

The frame-work of the machine is ata, upon which are mounted two rollers, b b*, carrying an endless apron, formed of transverse strips of'wood c, adapted to leather or other bands. A few only of these strips are shown in the drawings, their continuation being denoted by dotted lines. At the inward end of the endless apron is a fluted roller, d, and beyond this a roller, e, provided with a number of spikes.

This roller is situate above a dish, g, and be-- 10W a shield, f, and extending downward from the former is a plate, h, the inward extremity of which at i is formed as a grating.

' At 7c is a revolving roller, covered with leather or other such material, :against the periphery of whichis placeda blade, Z, carried by a transverse rail, m, and pressed against the roller by a spring, n. lIhe reciprocating blade is at o mounted upon a center-pin which is carried by rods p, connected at their lower ends to cranks 8, formed upon a shaft, r. (See the detached plan view, Fig. 3.) The bladeo isalso carriedby levers s, which :are jointed to centers at t, and which therefore guide the blade so as to cause it to scrape lightly against the periphery of the roller la, when it is moved upward by the cranks 8, the rod p turning upon the center u.

Upon' the shaft r is a pinion, u, taking into another, w, upon a shaft, zr. The latter pin- I ion carries a crank-pim? ,to which is adapted a connectingrod, z. This rod (see the detached Fig. 4) is formed in two parts, and the lower, 1, is constructed as a cylinder, within which the upper part, 2, is capable of slidin but the two portions are kept apart by means of a spring, 3. A vibratory motion may therefore be communicated by the crank y to the lever 4; but in case of any obstruction arising the said spring will collapse, so as to produce a modified motion only. rllhe lever et is fixed to a shaft, 6, to which. is adapted a series of prongs or combs, 7, caused, therefore, to vibrate, so as to pass through the teeth of the roller c and through the teeth of a row of fixed prongs, 9*, downward along the plate and grating h t', and to approach the periphery of the roller le between the xed blade l and vibrating blade o.

Upon the shaft r is a second pair of cranks, 9, which operate by means of connecting-rods 19 upon bell-crank levers 10, turning upon a center at 11. The vertical parts of these bellcrank levers carry a plate, 12, which, being thus caused to vibrate, scrapes lightly against the periphery of the roller lc.

At 13 14 are partitions constituting shields and extending from one side framing to the other. The roller k is indented upon'its surface with right-and-lefthanded spiral grooves, which therefore cross each other, as shown in the detached view of the said roller at Fig. 5.

Having pointed out the general arrangement and construction of the machine, We will proceed to explain how the several moving passes and from thence to another pulley, 17,

upon the shaft 18 of the roller k. This shaft 18 carries a pulley, 19, which communicates motion by means of a pulley, 20, to a shaft,

21, and upon this is a toothed wheel. 22, gearing into another, 25, upon the axis of the spiked roller c, and from thence motion is,

communicated to the roller b* of the feedapron bythe pinion 23, and tothe uted roller d by the pinion 24.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The wool or other such material to be cleaned is placed upon the apron c, which carries it forward beneath the roller d and delivers it to the spiked roller e, which, by revolving` in the direction of the arrow, opens it out from its entangled mass. The comb 7, being caused, as before described, to vibrate, removes the material from the teeth ofthe spiked roller e and through the prongs 9 x in detached tufts along the plate h and presents them to the surface of the roller k, which, by conveying them upward, presents them to the edge of the blade Z, where the burrs or other extraneous matters are loosened. Here they are acted upon by the vibrating blade o thrusting` them against the said xed bladeZ, which operation causes the burrs and other extraneous matters to be separated and fall downward through the grating t', while the cleaned wool or other such material is carried upward between the roller la and blade l, the grooves upon the surface of the said roller assisting their passage. A portion of the wool will fall from the roller and the remainder is detached and caused also to fall by the scraping action of the vibrating blade 12. The use of the elastic rod formed by the spring 3 will now be -perceived, for, should the transferring-comb remove an unusual quantity of material, an obstruction would be caused to its full Vibration, 'and a derangement of the parts would follow ii' the said rod were rigid.`

Having thus described our invention, We

claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The combination of the spiked roller e, vibrating comb 6 7, toothed plate h z', roller 7c, breast Z, vibrating blades o 12, bell-crank levers 10, and connecting-rods z p 9, all constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purposes shown and explained.

Patent Oyjce, 14 Si. Ann-788mm?, Manchester.

JNO. PLATT. WILLIAM RICHARDSON.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM TUDoR MARLEY, W. T. CHEETHAM. 

